The Perfect Fitting Dress Shirt

It doesn't matter how good the shirt is, the quality of the fabric, the designer brand, how shredded you are, how naturally handsome you might be - if the shirt doesn't fit, you look like shit.

Given that simple fact, The Style Magnate remains dismayed that most men still get it wrong.

The most common scenario is a shirt half a size, or more, too big. The shirt that balloons around the waist is just as unflattering as a skin-tight one. "Blousy" is a look no gentleman should be associated with.

Unfortunately, retailers don't make it easy to get it right. Even if you know your measurements there is no consistency in sizing and no two manufacturer's shirts fit the same. They all tend to vary somewhat about an average and any given shirt will fit very few people well. Unless you have the measurements of both the shirt and your body as with the Sizemikk Fit System, the only way is to try it on, take an honest look in the mirror, and follow these guidelines for nailing the perfect fit:

The Neck

Simple rule - you should be able to comfortably stick 1 to 2 fingers between your neck and the collar of your shirt when it's buttoned. And when we say 2 fingers we mean place your middle finger on top of your index finger and see if you can fit that finger stack in. If you can fit your whole hand in, it's too big, size down until you find it. If you can button the shirt but can't fit a finger in, go up 1/2 a size and try again.

Yep - that shirt fits

The Torso

The body of the shirt should be trim throughout the torso. Snug in the chest, with buttons lying flat, but with no sign of tension across your pecs even when you breathe in. It should taper from your chest down to your hip in line with your body shape - and that line of course is not the same for everyone. Point is, no billowing. And no exploding buttons - anywhere between your neck and hip.

Box pleat - for beefy guys

The Back and Shoulders

The seams of the shirt should lie at the start of the curve of your shoulder. Broad, beefier guys should consider a shirt with box pleats (two folds between the shoulder blades) in the back for a little more room without extra volume. Slimmer builds should opt for more fitted styles, without pleats, contouring down towards the waist.

The Waist

As mentioned - no ballooning. Billowy folds don't hide anything, they only make it worse. We also don't want you bursting any buttons. Sitting down while wearing the shirt it should lightly skim your waist but have just a bit of room even after that big Friday lunch.

The Sleeves

With your arms by their sides, the cuff of your shirt should stop just at that corner where the base of your thumb meets the wrist.

Length

The back of the shirt should be long enough to lie under your butt when your seated. Feel it there. That'll be good for your posture and it won't ride up and come untucked.

So, it's certainly not rocket science, however finding a shirt that truly fits unfortunately is not so easy. Traipsing from store to store trying on shirt after shirt. Or rolling the dice with an online purchase after navigating through incomplete sizing tables, product descriptions and length conversions. It can be painful. We believe there's a better way. The Sizemikk Fit System is the dead-simple way to find quality shirts that fit. Sign up today.